Mixtures of finely divided globules of one liquid in another are referred to herein generally as an emulsion, it being understood that a suspension of differing liquids is involved as distinguished from solutions wherein a mixture is formed by dissolving two or more liquids together. Such an emulsion which requires separation is an emulsion of oil in water, for example a shale oil emulsion as produced by my Method and Apparatus for Acquisition of Shale Oil as is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,151,067 issued Apr. 24, 1979. The oil recovered thereby is a natural hydrocarbon obtained from the processing of oil shale or tar sands, by particulating the shale or sand and separating the same from said oil by means of emulsification in water. Therefore, it is an object of this invention to provide a method and apparatus for the further separation of the oil-water emulsion into the distinct and separately identifiable hydrocarbon substance and liquid carrier of which it is comprised.
Water is a liquid that is known to boil at 212.degree. F. and vaporize into its gaseous state of steam, while hydrocarbons such as oil is known to be retorted at 900.degree.-1000.degree. F. well below its refining temperatures. It is this diversity between the boiling temperature of water and the refining temperature of hydrocarbons which is utilized herein to separate the heavier water carrier from the lighter oil globules, by distillation which involves vaporizing and subsequently condensing the former after it is liberated out of the latter. Heretofore, retorts and boilers have been employed to heat the liquid mixture into the distillation temperatures, for example to drive off the water as a steam vapor, but with problems bearing upon scaling deposits and the extraction of said oil. It is an object of this invention to provide a dynamic process and apparatus therefor which continuously discharges the separated oil and water, without using retorts or boilers. With the present invention, the emulsion supply is brought to a temperature less than boiling of the water carrier, and an oil heating media is brought to a temperature greater than the boiling temperature of water but less than the refining temperature of the said oil media. Since the boiling and/or refining temperature is not reached in either case, there can be no scaling or residue deposits as is the usual case in retorts and boilers.
The liquid emulsion and liquid heating media are brought together by the present invention to admix and comingle as they are transported by fluid flow thereof through an elongated separator comprised of an insulated closure from which oil and water vapors (steam) are separately discharged. The higher temperature heating media is recirculated emulsion oil which acts upon the emulsion input of lower temperature to vaporize the water content thereof from the oil globule content thereof, all of which progresses dynamically through the separator while the water vapor (steam) is liberated and rises to be discharged at a low pressure sufficient to induce flow. The discharge steam vapor is condensed into substantially pure water and heat recovery applied therefrom to the input emulsion. The flow level and pressure is controlled within the separator for the continuous discharge of product oil, and circulation of the input emulsion and heating media oil is induced by pumping, respectively. The product oil emerges from the separation chamber at the boiling temperature of water and heat recovery is applied therefrom to the input emulsion subsequent to the aforesaid recovery from condensing said steam discharge, thereby bringing the input emulsion to a temperature close to boiling. Thus, the product oil is delivered at low temperature, as is the by-product water which is employed usefully in the emulsion acquisition process of said U.S. Pat. No. 4,151,067.